Palisades From The Ashes

The battle to rebuild Pacific Palisades may be more heated than the fires that consumed it, but Los Angeles is no stranger to reinvention. From the ashes of disasters, both natural and political, the city has always found a way to rebuild itself, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that ripped through Pacific Palisades, what’s emerging isn’t just a fight to restore one of LA’s most exclusive neighborhoods. It’s a battle for the very soul of the city.

On one side, you have billionaire developer Rick Caruso, a man whose name is synonymous with high-end consumerism, luxury experiences, and an undeniable talent for making things happen fast. On another, there’s Governor Gavin Newsom, who sees the crisis as an opportunity to push his broader agenda of increasing housing density in a state perpetually starved for affordable homes. Sacramento, eager to address California’s long-standing housing crisis, wants more than just rebuilding—it wants to reimagine the area with denser, more equitable housing. Then, of course, there’s LA’s City Hall, helmed by Mayor Karen Bass, who finds herself walking a political tightrope, balancing the interests of wealthy homeowners, progressive housing advocates, and a city bureaucracy that often moves at a glacial pace.

The stakes? The future of LA’s coastline and the larger question of whether this city is truly ready to evolve or whether it will once again succumb to the same forces that have long kept meaningful progress at bay.

The Caruso Factor: A Private Sector Power Play

Rick Caruso’s track record in Los Angeles is hard to ignore. He built The Grove, Palisades Village, and Americana at Brand—glossy, sanitized versions of community spaces that, while undeniably successful, are also testaments to his ability to sidestep bureaucracy and impose his singular vision on the urban landscape.

His response to the Palisades wildfire disaster has been swift and aggressive. He founded a nonprofit, Steadfast LA, dedicated to rebuilding efforts, cutting through the red tape, and, in his own words, holding the government accountable. His criticisms of Mayor Bass’s handling of the crisis have been loud, pointed, and strategic, painting City Hall as ineffectual while positioning himself as the city’s true problem-solver.

Whether Caruso’s involvement is purely altruistic or another calculated move in a long game that may one day include a gubanatorial bid remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that his presence has reignited a debate about the role of private developers in shaping public spaces. One thing seems clear to a lot of LA voters, and this is we need a doer to get things done and Caruso is a doer, with a vision.

Newsom, Sacramento, and the Affordable Housing Push

While Caruso may be focused on rebuilding Pacific Palisades in a way that maintains its affluent, polished aesthetic, Governor Gavin Newsom and Sacramento have their own agenda. California’s housing crisis has reached a boiling point, and state officials see every rebuild as an opportunity to increase density and create more affordable housing.

Newsom has been clear: Los Angeles can no longer afford to sprawl outward. It must build up. His administration has pushed for zoning reforms that would allow for denser housing, even in traditionally single-family enclaves like the Palisades. To many residents, this is an existential threat. To others, it’s a long-overdue reckoning with a city that has long prioritized exclusivity over accessibility.

The battle between Sacramento and local leaders is nothing new, but the Palisades fire has amplified the conversation. Should this prized stretch of the coast remain a bastion of multimillion-dollar estates, or should it be part of a broader movement to open up LA’s housing market to more than just the ultra-wealthy?

Mayor Bass and City Hall: A Balancing Act

Karen Bass came into office with a mandate to fix LA’s homelessness crisis and restore public trust in City Hall. But if the Palisades wildfire has revealed anything, it’s that leading LA requires a near-impossible balancing act between competing interests.

On one side, she faces wealthy residents who want to preserve the Palisades as it was—perhaps with some updated fire safety measures, but certainly without an influx of high-density housing. On the other, she faces pressure from Sacramento to implement policies that will reshape the city’s housing landscape in ways that are bound to be unpopular among her most vocal and well-connected constituents.

Bass’s response to the wildfire crisis has been measured but slow, drawing criticism from both sides. For Caruso and his supporters, she has been too passive, too bureaucratic, and too willing to let government inefficiencies dictate the pace of rebuilding. For housing advocates, she has been too hesitant, too unwilling to use this opportunity to enact the kind of bold reforms needed to address LA’s chronic housing issues.

The Bigger Picture: Who Gets to Shape LA’s Future?

The battle for Pacific Palisades is, in many ways, a microcosm of the larger battle playing out across LA. It’s a fight between the old guard—those who want to maintain the city’s historic patterns of development—and the forces pushing for change, density, and inclusivity.

Los Angeles is at a crossroads. The old way of doing things—slow, exclusive, resistant to change—has contributed to the very problems that made the wildfire crisis so devastating. The lack of affordable housing has pushed more people into fire-prone areas, while restrictive zoning laws have made it difficult to build the kinds of communities that could withstand disasters more effectively.

Caruso represents the private sector’s vision of the future: fast, efficient, but ultimately driven by profit. Newsom and Sacramento represent a state-level push for reform that is often at odds with local realities. Bass represents City Hall’s struggle to reconcile these competing interests while maintaining political stability.

Conclusion: A City at a Crossroads

What happens next in Pacific Palisades will set a precedent for the rest of Los Angeles. If Caruso gets his way, we’ll see a rapid reconstruction effort that prioritizes efficiency but largely preserves the area’s exclusivity. If Newsom and Sacramento win out, we could see the beginnings of a more dramatic shift toward denser, more affordable housing, even in LA’s most affluent enclaves. If Bass can navigate these treacherous waters successfully, she may yet find a way to balance these interests and set LA on a path toward a more sustainable future.

But one thing is clear: the status quo is no longer an option. The battle for Pacific Palisades isn’t just about rebuilding after a wildfire. It’s about deciding what kind of city Los Angeles wants to be in the decades to come. And that fight is far from over.